With three quarterbacks very much in position to start for Oklahoma State this fall, it was sort of assumed one would eventually transfer as the odd man out. Late last week, former starter Wes Lunt announced he would be the one moving on.
Per ESPN’s Joe Schad, Lunt is looking to transfer to one of five schools: Southern Miss, Illinois, Louisville, Tennessee or Vanderbilt. Lunt’s former high school coach, Derek Leonard, tells the Tulsa World that Lunt will request a release to those five schools rather than ask for a blanket release to all schools. Lunt’s search is not expected to expand past those five, with Leonard telling the paper he doesn’t see the search going past the end of this month.
Former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who recruited Lunt, is currently the head coach of Southern Miss. Lunt is from the state of Illinois, so transferring to the Illini would put him closer to home. Charlie Strong (Louisville), Butch Jones (Tennessee) and James Franklin (Vanderbilt) all have previous recruiting ties to Lunt out of high school.
Lunt started five games for Oklahoma State last year, but was hampered with head and knee injuries. He finished his freshman season with 1,108 yards passing, six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Where Lunt goes from here remains to be seen. If he decides to transfer to another Division 1-A program, he would have to sit out a year to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.
Which will work out fine, as those schools all have, or will have in the not-too-distant future, quarterback needs.
